Catalyst
by cookingastory
Summary: Set Post 5x07. A painful catalyst will bring Gail and Holly impossibly close. Suspense, fluffy, GOLLY! Looking down Gail pressed her pale fingers to her upper torso staining them instantly with her pooling blood. "I've been shot." Gail whispered. If Gail was dead she wanted to run this journey for the rest of her life on the hope that Gail might be alive. If Gail was alive...


**Chapter One **

_Hey guys I hope you like this. I've fallen in love with Golly and well the show is just being a tease with this slow build up! If you like, review _

I hear shots fired everyday; Gail thought as that familiar snap echoed outside the park. Suddenly she could see the blue sky, cloudless and bright. There was no pain, just the odd sensation of her heart pumping awkwardly and hard in her chest. Looking down Gail pressed her pale fingers to her upper torso staining them instantly with her pooling blood.

"I've been shot." Gail whispered to herself distracted by a bird flying through her field of vision.

_Pump. Pump pump. Pump. Her heart clenched and sprung. _

"Hey…hello. I've been shot." Gail murmured as suddenly her ears popped and noise rushed to her senses. More cracks of gunfire and someone shouting…someone shouting her name.

"GAIL, GAIL LOOK AT ME!" Andy screamed over her applying her hands over Gail's wound just below her collarbone. Gail managed to focus her icy blue eyes onto Andy and she flashed a small smile.

"I forgive you, okay. I forgive you." Gail mumbled as she latched onto Andy's hand gripping it as tight as she could. This was it. This was how she was going to die and uphold the Peck name – no greater honor than dying in the line of duty.

Coughing she tasted and smelt the metallic stink of blood spraying from her lips.

"WHERE'S THE MEDIC? SHE'S COUGHING BLOOD." Andy cried applying as much pressure as she could to Gail's chest breathing deeply.

"You don't have to forgive me Gail okay. We've got more time to torture me about Nick. Remember? I'm not off probation for that yet." Andy joked hysteria beginning to build in her voice. Gail grimaced at the momentum of pain beginning to sear through her nerve endings.

"Andy I need something okay something more important than all that bullshit with you, me and Nick." Gail spluttered panic beginning to set in about her condition and how much time she had left.

Gripping Andy's hand as tight as she could, her knuckles white from exertion Andy focused back to her frightened.

"Okay I'm listening what is it?" Andy asked quickly as she pulled Gail a bit higher in her arms the pale woman slowly turning grey from blood loss.

"Holly." Gail cried tears rolling down her face cutting through the strands of blood as her whole body began to wrack with her sobs.

"What about Holly?" Andy pressed looking up to the noise of the ambulance sirens.

"If I don't make it, you never tell her this. She has a right to move on. I messed up. I'm the cat in the tree Andy. But she wasn't Nick…she waiting at the bottom for me." Gail mumbled incoherently her grip on Andy's hand loosening.

Taking her hand and slapping Gail across the face with a loud smack Andy said "Gail what about HOLLY?"

Inhaling deeply Gail locked eyes with her. "I loved her more than anyone in my life. Someone had to know, it should have been her. But I loved Holly Stewart more than anyone else in this world." Gail whispered the darkness taking her as her eyes slid shut and she fell limp in Andy's arms.

It wasn't till the paramedics whipped Gail out of her arms that Andy inhaled brushing her own tears off her face getting up.

"Are you coming with her?" They asked frantically as they loaded her into the ambulance. She nodded silently taking Gail's hand and searching for her cell phone.

Predictably her pin was 46559 and with that Andy accessed her contact list. Under "Love" Andy pressed the call button.

_**Gail's Subconscious **_

_It was cold. The dark hue of midnight stained the sky as fresh white snow covered the ground outside of their apartment. Gail stood at Holly's bay window admiring the sleeping city of Toronto – their home. _

"_Mummy says that when you can't sleep you should count to a hundred backwards." A little girl announced beside her. She had pale skin and long black hair with the more luxurious brown eyes Gail had ever seen. Feeling the little girl grab her hand and hold on Gail swallowed a bit of emotion. This wasn't real whatever it was. _

"_Where am I?" Gail asked quietly as the little girl began to swing their hands gently at their sides. _

"_Mummy says that when you dream it's either the past, or the future. But the only dreams that matter are the ones about the future." The little girl explained tugging on Gail's hand for attention. Looking down Gail knelt beside her so they were face to face. She didn't realize her eyes were closed until she felt two little sweaty hands on her cheeks cradling her face. _

"_I think you might be my future." Gail whispered shakily. The little girl smiled toothily. _

"_It's time to wake up now." She sung. _

The sting of bright ER lights shone through her open eyes making her squint. She was moving, fast and horizontally. The motion made her want to puke and she lolled her head to the side. Stupid oxygen mask over her face and she clambered to remove it. Strong bloodied hands covered her rogue hand keeping the mask in its place. Andy.

"Don't even think about it. I called Holly." Andy warned seeing a spark erupt in Gail's eyes. Then like a light she was out again.

Andy was pulled away as they rushed her past the double doors and into surgery. Standing there she took a shaky breath trying to steady her own crashing anxiety.

**HOLLY **

Thud Thud. Thud thud. That's all Holly heard as she forced her brain to put one foot in front of the other as she ran in the direction of the hospital.

Thud thud. Gail could be dead. Thud thud. Gail could be dying alone. Thud thud. She'll never know. Thud thud. What have I done? Thud thud. Gail has been shot. Thud.

Holly almost tripped as she came to a stop in front of the hospital. Her brain was computing a thousand different outcomes at once. If Gail was dead she wanted to run this journey for the rest of her life on the hope that Gail might be alive. If Gail was alive, she wanted to drink herself into oblivion to forget this day ever happened.

Torn between the torment of uncertainty and the hope of seeing Gail breathing in any shape or form Holly forced herself into the hospital.

The sight of Andy took her breath away. She was covered in blood, her hands, forearms; she had smeared it across her forehead and stood like a statue in front of the double doors, which led to the operating theatres. It was then that her body shut down, that her legs turned to lead rooting her in this position and her heart froze to ice beating awkwardly and hard, out of sync with life. Before she knew it Andy was standing in front of her, anxious and alert.

"You're her medical proxy." Andy stated loudly as if they were in a crowded bar. She was in shock. Snapping out of her fear Holly took Andy's bloody hands in her own.

"What happened?" Holly asked almost silently. The responsibility of being a medical proxy weighing down upon her almost instantly.

"We took fire at a park. Can you believe that, a park?" Andy said shocked by her story.

"We were trying to collar this heroin dealer, then out of nowhere shots came from the far end of the park and Gail…she was just…down." Andy choked out flabbergasted.

"Where was she shot Andy I need to know!" Holly insisted gripping onto her hands as tight as she could.

Andy tapped above her vest only slightly watching Holly's complexion whiten almost instantly.

"She was coughing up blood and then she just fell limp in my arms. She kept talking." Andy began to cry the full force of the event hitting her at once falling into Holly's shoulder.

"What did she say?" Holly asked feeling her own tears drip off her chin.

"That she loved you. More than anyone." Andy whispered her heart breaking as Holly's head bowed into her hands.

**Operating Room**

"This is one tough cookie. She lost almost half her blood volume and she's still hanging on for surgery." Her surgeon commented as he tightened his forceps around the bullet gently removing it from the wound his assistant set about dealing with the bleeding.

"Well she's going to have to be a lot tougher when she gets out. Nicked an artery and tore through pectoral and infraspinatus muscles. She'll be lucky if she can lift her arm again for the next few months." Remarked the assistant sadly. The lead surgeon chuckled.

"This is your first police officer isn't it?" He asked the younger, who nodded confused.

"Trust me, these men and women can come back from anything." He promised.

"You better go get her medical proxy please Nurse. We're going to need to discuss her injuries once these sutures are done." He asked politely watching his best surgical nurse nod her head and leave quickly.

**WAITING ROOM **

Half of Toronto PD stood pacing around the waiting room making everybody there feel anxious and afraid. Oliver stood guard over the nurse's station perennially asking for information. Dov paced reciting the names of presidents in his head, attempting to distract himself. Chloe sat with a shell shocked Andy washing her bloody hands with a wet wipe for her, speaking gently and calmly. It was Holly who stood rooted to the flood beside the double doors wishing that she had been a trauma surgeon instead of a pathologist in order to help Gail in this dire moment of need. She saw the scrub booties first before she looked up to a woman in a full suit of operating clothing.

"Gail Peck's proxy?" She asked gently, numerous heads snapping to attention. The surgeon smiled behind her stepping forward Holly nodded silently, praying to whatever god would listen that it would be good news.

"She's going to be fine. The bullet tore through her peck and nicked an artery it also splintered her shoulder blade but she's a trooper she's going to make it." He said confidently watching relief spread across the room like a wave. Holly let out a shaky breath a silent sob escaping her mouth.

"She's okay?" Holly confirmed. He nodded smiling.

"She's going to be in ICU for 3-4 days and she's going to need rehab for her muscle damage. But I see no reason why she won't make a full recovery in 2-3 months." He balanced out feeling Holly's arms wrap around his neck tightly. It wasn't uncommon for relatives or spouses to be affectionate in their gratitude so he smiled and patted her back warmly.

"Your girlfriend is very happy you're here. She had me promise to tell you before the anesthesia that the bullet killed the cat – I wouldn't read to much into it though she had lost a lot of blood." He joked blind to the emotion of Gail's last declaration.

"When can I see her?" Holly whispered throatily her voice hoarse from crying.

Taking his scrub cap off he scratched his salt and pepper hair. "I'd say in about 20 minutes, Room 104, they were just washing her up and changing her when I left." He promised patting her on the shoulder before leaving.

Oliver managed to disperse the rest of the rookies whilst Holly began her breathing exercises. She needed to be strong for Gail now not the broken mess she was here. Before leaving himself he leant in silently and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Let this be a lesson to the pair of you. Life's too short to worry about having a perfect relationship okay. Tell Gail not to worry about the incident report until she's out of here okay." He said firmly watching Holly nod and wipe fresh tears from her eyes. She watched him turn on his feet and walk out.

**ROOM 104 **

From the doorway Holly watched as the nurses began hooking Gail up to the various machines beside her bed. The comforting beep of her heart monitor began to calm her nerves. Gail had never looked so vulnerable and Holly wrung her hands as she sat down and began her bedside vigil. Together or not, she was her plus one to any event forever.

_**Hey, so follow me on cookingastory and let's see if anyone can figure out why Gail's pin is 46559?**_


End file.
